Travelers should be used to not hauling ginormous quantities of liquids/gels/aerosols in their carry-ons on airplanes by now, but you might find your tube of toothpaste under extra scrutiny if you’re heading to Russia for the Olympics. Federal officials have issued a warning to U.S. and some foreign airlines to be on the lookout for toothpaste, whose containers could hold ingredients used to make a bomb on a plane. [More]
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Reporters Arriving For Sochi Olympics Are Less Than Pleased With Nonexistent Hotel Rooms
By 2.5.14
The Winter Olympics start this week in Sochi, Russia, and you might be jealous of all the reporters getting paid to attend the games watch these events live. One thing you shouldn’t be envious of are the conditions of the hotel rooms these reporters are arriving to find. [More]
McDonald’s Olympics Social Media Campaign Backfires, Transforms Into Pro-LGBT Protest
By 1.24.14
McDonald’s attempt at using Twitter to promote its role in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, has not gone exactly as the fast food chain planned — that is, unless it planned for the LGBT community to use this campaign as a way to publicly shame the company for its sponsorship of the games. [More]
Burger King Russia Positions Whopper As Substitute For Opium And/Or McDonald’s
By 8.16.13
People are often quipping that fast food has a drug-like quality that keeps customers coming back for more, but the folks at Burger King’s Russian operation are making the connection quite literal, while at the same time apparently poking fun at McDonald’s. [More]
Man Tries To Beat Bank At Its Own Game With Fine Print That Gives Him Unlimited Credit
By 8.9.13
When it comes to fine print on user agreements and terms of service, I’ve found that there are those who blame companies for making these documents so long and complicated that most people will never read them (and might not even be able to understand the terms even after reading them), and then there are those who say consumers can’t complain if they don’t first read and understand everything they agree to. Here’s a story out of Russia that should appeal to both sides of that debate. [More]
Russia Wants To Connect With Alaska Via Tunnel
By 8.24.11
In what at a first glance seems like an supervillain plot from a James Bond movie, Russia wants to dig a 64-mile tunnel that connects Siberia and Alaska. The $65 billion project would allow for travel via a high-speed railway and connect the countries with energy links and fiber optic cable. [More]
Russia Goes After 1 Guy, Worldwide Spam Drops By 1/5
By 10.28.10
After Russian authorities started an investigation into alleged spammaster Igor A. Gusev, worldwide spam has dropped by a sustained one-fifth. [More]
Passengers Forced To Stand During Flight Because There Weren't Enough Seats
By 10.1.10
While airlines like RyanAir mull over “standing-room seating” and designers create plane seats that will bring tears to your eyes, one airline in Russia figured out how to get passengers to stand up during a flight — just tell them to. [More]
Russian Hotties Collared In $3M Bank Hack Scam
By 10.1.10
Several comely young Russian woman were snagged by the feds in New York yesterday for allegedly working as money mules for hackers who stole over $3 mil from American bank accounts using trojan viruses. [More]
Don't Believe A Lawyer That Tells You Adoptions Have The Same Return Policies As Amazon.com
By 4.9.10
A family that adopted a Russian child with severe emotional problems decided to simply put him on a plane back to Russia with a note for the child protection ministry. He showed up unannounced with a paid escort, provoking an “international incident.” [More]
Update: BoA ATM Card Dispatched To Stranded Traveler After Return To U.S.
By 8.21.09
After stranding reader Shannon in Siberia with no functioning ATM card, Bank of America has reached out to her and made up for the situation. Sort of. A new card was immediately dispatched, but the corresponding PIN didn’t show up until five days later. She did, however, receive a $100 Amazon gift card for her inconvenience.
BoA Strands Customer In Siberia With No Money
By 8.11.09
Bank of America has cut off Shannon’s debit card and says she has to get a new one. This would otherwise be a minor inconvenience except for the fact that Shannon is in Irkutsk, Russia on a 2-week Trans-Siberian trek.
How To Tell If Your Spam Came From Russia
By 2.6.09
It’s Social Studies time! Did you know that 22% of the world’s spam comes from Russia? It’s fun to get mail from other countries, isn’t it? Andrew Biliter at the blog readrussia.com has some handy tips on how to tell whether that penis enlargement email was written by a vodka-swigging bearded man sitting in an onion-domed house. Or, you know, just a regular Russian. *shrug*
Russian Mobsters Steal 8 Million Customer Records From Best Western
By 8.24.08
If you stayed at one of Best Western’s 1,312 European hotels since 2007, the Russian mafia now has your credit information! In a nightmarish globalization fairy tale come true, an Indian hacker successfully planted a virus in Best Western’s European computer systems that fed addresses, phone numbers, and credit card details to mobsters in Russia.
Here's What The World Of ATM Hacking Looks Like
By 6.26.08
Wired has been covering the ongoing investigation into recurring ATM pin thefts from Citibank accounts, and their latest article tracks how Ukrainian immigrants, a ringleader back in Russia, a hacked company named Fiserv that runs Citibank-branded ATMs in 7-Elevens, and an online payment service that also offers money laundering for a small fee all come together to steal your money. It’s an amazing look at how the U.S. tries to combat the threat of ATM-related theft.
Russia Bans Import Of U.S. Chicken, Pork
By 10.20.07
Russia has banned the import of chicken and pork from 30 U.S. facilities in the wake of a midsummer audit. Russia has not disclosed what, if anything, the audits uncovered, according to a concerned spokesman from the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council.
All of the banned poultry plants were major suppliers of U.S. poultry to Russia and are some of the most efficient facilities in the country, the export council said.
